Category Archives: Economy

These jerkwads just took possession of the House this month and yet to listen to them tell it, the Party of No can claim THEY are the ones that ‘did it all’ when it comes to last years small but significant economic/job growth. The GOP, who refused to support anything that was put forth in the 111th Congress, except for the Tax Cuts from Hell in the lame duck session in December, have the nads to grab credit for Obama’s hard earned work. From MediaMatters’ site, PoliticalCorrection.Org(emphasis and links all theirs):

Appearing on Fox News’ Happening Now, House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-CA) credited “positive numbers” on the economy to House Republicans’ newly held majority status and their pursuit of “pro-growth policies.”

REP. DREIER: The notion that many pundits and people on some of those other cable channels throw out regularly that we want to bring an end to health care for people is just preposterous. We are determined to ensure that with a market-oriented approach we can have the kind of chance for people to have access to insurance and we can get our economy growing. And we’ve gotten some positive numbers. I think it’s in large part because we won our majority and we’re pursuing pro-growth policies. I think we can make it happen.

It’s hard to understand how Dreier can justify giving the not-yet-implemented policies of the House Republican majority credit for economic growth that occurred when both houses of Congress were dominated by Democrats, but apparently this is a strategy Republicans have decided to embrace. ThinkProgress caught Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) pulling a similar maneuver. Calling the Obama administration “highly anti-business,” Kyl credited the December extension of the Bush tax cuts for private-sector business growth that had occurred in the 11 months prior to the passage of the extension.

Just to outline this framework: under the deal, the Bush tax cuts for all rate levels would be extended for two years. The estate tax, in a monstrous deal, will be lowered from 2009 levels, with a $5 million dollar exemption and a 35% rate, for two years as well. And, the deal adds what is now an annual patch to the alternative minimum class so it doesn’t hit people in the middle class. In exchange, extended unemployment benefits between 26 and 99 weeks will be continued for 13 months, to the end of December 2011 (costing around $65 billion). …

So who exactly did Obama stand ‘up for’ with this ridiculous cave-in to the Corporate bootlickers known as the GOP?

As I watched the presser, the one time Obama got really animated (read as pissed off) was when he went after the left.

Did Obama just commit political-suicide with this pact he made with the devil..aka..the GOP? Voters are known for having short memories, but if the unemployment rate is still above 9% come 2012, I see no way for Obama to make this go-away.

Bernie Sanders is standing firm in opposing this pact. Buddha Bless that man. I hope other Congress Critters have a set of balls like Bernie. Bernie is on Dylan Ratigans show now and says he will do whatever it takes to keep this agreement from going up for a vote.

Oh, and fuck Mitch OConnell and his gloating. The GOP just became domestic terrorists to me.

The ‘too big to fail’ banks know the government will give them what they need to stay afloat. After all, according to Dick Durbin they run Congress. But..what if they are wrong on that? From the NYT:

But that does not necessarily mean the banks will get that money from the government. The findings, to be released Thursday by the Obama administration, suggest that the rescue money that Congress has already approved will be enough to fill the gaps. If so, the big bailouts for the banks may be over.

All of this assumes that the economy does not take another turn for the worse, which would result in even more losses at the banks — and the need for even more money to prop them up. But hopes that the tests will be a turning point in this financial crisis electrified Wall Street on Wednesday and some overseas markets the next day. Financial shares soared, lifting the broader American stock market to its highest level in four months. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 101.63, or 1.2 percent, to close at 8,512.28 Wednesday, while Japan’s Nikkei index rose more than 4 percent by midday Thursday.

Now, I could give a rat’s ass how the ‘markets’ reacted. I am really friggin tired of seeing the Dow Jones on the bottom of the screen on MSNBC all fucking day. If you have any stocks at this point in time..you can afford to wait for the upswing. It will come you know..but it might be awhile.

Did you read Timmy Geithner’s OpEd? No? Oh well, just step right up and click that linky folks!

What? You don’t give a shit how Timmy sells us another boatload of bullshit? Even if this time it’s the stress test and his version of recent history. Ok, you are forcing me to post some of his fuckery here:

The president came into office facing a deep recession and a damaged financial system. Credit had dried up, forcing businesses to lay off workers and defer investment. Families were finding it difficult to borrow to finance a new house, buy a car or pay college tuition. Without action to restore lending, we faced the prospect of a much deeper and longer recession.

President Obama confronted these problems with dramatic action to address the housing crisis and to restart credit markets that are responsible for roughly half of all business and consumer lending. The administration also initiated a program to provide a market for legacy loans and securities to help cleanse bank balance sheets. These programs are helping to repair lending channels that do not rely on banks, and will contribute to fixing the banking system itself.

However, the banking system has also needed a more direct and forceful response. Actions by Congress and the Bush administration last fall helped bring tentative stability. But when President Obama was sworn into office in January, confidence in America’s banking system remained low.

Because of concern about future losses, and the limited transparency of bank balance sheets, banks were unable to raise equity and found it difficult to borrow without government guarantees. And they were pulling back on lending to protect themselves against the possibility of a worsening recession. As a result, the economy was deprived of credit, and this caused severe damage to confidence and slowed economic activity.

It seems to me that Timmy explains things like he is talking to a ten year old. I am not ten years old. I do not need for Timmy to tell me a ‘story’.

I know what happened and when thanks to PublicIntegrity.org and ProPublica.org. I know how crappy things were when Obama took over the oval office Jan 21, 2009. I know that the Obama administration is just as good as Bush’s was..when it comes to explaining how they spend our money.

Don’t condescend to me buddy. It pisses me the hell off, and frankly, doesn’t make you look very good either.